Buying from Japan - May help

[Mortm 5]

I find the best way, and it produces a lot more results generally, is to use google translate to convert what you are after into Japanese then paste that directly into yahoo.co.jp .. see what you find (don't forget to use always translate option in your web browser or you have to right click and select translate to English a lot) when you find what you want copy the Auction ID and paste it into the search function of your selected proxy service, Buyee, Fromjapan, Japmart etc., and off you go.

Prices are not always a bargain --- have local reference site to judge against and consider the extra costs you will incur when adding up the final delivered to you price.
Never buy something that has engine in the description.. you will most likely lose it as the Japanese are funny about engine models and shipping.
If you are buying a full kit NIB i would use FromJapan as they do not remove items like grease . small shock oil bottles etc. which other do so .. not NIB anymore.. very annoying.
Be very careful about what is in the box as they are prone to urrrm Stretching the Truth a lot 
Fees, Charges, Shipping and UK taxes can easily double you winning bid price.
They have a strange Auto Extension function which means sought after items auctions can go on for a long time and they are prone to bid in the last 3-4 mins.. so keep an eye out.
Only bid once at a time to your max(well max at that time) as sometimes they use different ID's and you can find yourself bidding against yourself.
You won't make a business out of this but you will find stuff that is not readily available elsewhere in the world generally and you will get some serious bargains sometimes.

There are more sites out there in Japan you just have to dig to find a proxy that will allow bidding on them.

Hope that helps but don't go crazy as you will have other fees and shipping costs to pay after you win an auction which can easily double the price or more if you don't keep an eye on it.

Good luck.
Al

[Mortm 5]

UPDATE:

Beware of New In Bag items I just received two New In Bag body sets , one was missing small parts that are near impossible to find and the other had the rare decals swapped out for very common ones re-re ones which were turned upside down so I could not see them from the pictures posted with the auction but they both stated NIB and I paid accordingly for that alone. Sucks to be honest.

Be very careful.. crooks and dodgy chancers abound across the net.. heck years ago someone came up with the scam of selling "Fake Rice" which was made from recycled plastic... the lengths some people will go to to make a buck is crazy. 

Al

[Willy iine 18805]

I only shop Japanese retailers and private sellers through eBay.   It might be more expensive, but the only scammer I've encountered was from USA.  Yes, total embarrassment as I am also in the USA.  eBay refunded me in full.

 

[Alexei 547]

i have bought a couple of things on yahooauctions Japan. if i cant confirm the item in the pictures, then i would not buy it and look for something else. the pictures can be a little bad quite a few times.

[Rvl 2 16]

I use Yahoo Japan auctions but my favorite is to go to my local shop and get him to order , but often Tamiya is out of stock.

I live in Japan and can understand some Japanese. And I often find parts missing too from Yahoo Auctions.

[Knighte 12]

Does anyone buy from PlazaJapan?  Seems to be a shop in Osaka that sells a lot of stuff online.  They have a TRF511 upgrade kit fairly cheap compared to what others are asking for the same thing on Ebay.

[WillyChang 1814]

9 minutes ago, Knighte said:

Does anyone buy from PlazaJapan?  Seems to be a shop in Osaka that sells a lot of stuff online.

Have you added in their postage quotes? PJ looked attractive for many bits, but I keep getting crazy ex postage costs on everything from small parts to large sets. 

[Knighte 12]

I have... I am in Australia, so not far for postage, and postage was relatively cheap.  I also bought some stuff on Ebay from Japanese sellers, and Fedex and similar fast postage options were ridiculously cheap ($20) whilst Hong Kong sellers wanted $80 (price for sending a whole car kit).

[GeeWings 2830]

Has anyone used zenmarket?

Im tempted but the problem is you have to pay for the goods before  you find out shipping costs. I’m a bit worried I’m going to get fleeced.

[Lee1075 282]

On 6/22/2022 at 1:14 PM, GeeWings said:

Has anyone used zenmarket?

Im tempted but the problem is you have to pay for the goods before  you find out shipping costs. I’m a bit worried I’m going to get fleeced.

I use ZenMarket, never had a single problem. Everything arrived that i purchased or won at auction, perfectly packaged. You can find out shipping costs beforehand if you know the rough dimensions and weight. After your first 5 purchases you get a credit limit granted, which raises depending on how many things you have bought per year, then you don´t need to put your money upfront any longer. 

[GeeWings 2830]

Thanks @Lee1075 that's really helpful. I will get ordering!

[Lee1075 282]

On 7/5/2022 at 10:54 AM, GeeWings said:

Thanks @Lee1075 that's really helpful. I will get ordering!

You´re welcome @GeeWings, good luck